The Gifted
by Wandering Aimlessly
Summary: People wait for a savior, and a boy born from the unluckiest of circumstances rescues a mysterious stranger who may hold the key to bringing peace- if only he could remember who he was. AU Riku/Sora slight yaoi
1. Chapter 1 Of Strangers

Hi Everyone,

This is my first story in a while, and I've seriously been working on the first chapter for an entire semester to make sure it was perfect. This story is a bit of a baby of mine so I hope you enjoy. It was born on the premise of 1) Exploring new ways of writing a character's experiences, and 2) Creating a world where the Final Fantasy Characters and Kingdom Hearts characters live seamlessly. I've been playing the three 'classic' FFs (7,8. and especially 9 cause it's the easiest and I'm no gamer), as well as continuing to watch my gf wack away at 12. 10 was my first and will always be my favorite. That being said there will be a few FF characters appearing that weren't in the KH games, that and there well be Al-Bhed spoken.

Special thanks to my Girlfrined for profreading this and convincing me that this was way to good of a story idea to sit in my notebook. Also for getting me the FF games for Christmas.

**The usual warnings**: There will eventually be a relationship between Riku and Sora, and until then a bit of a lopsided Riku/Sora/Kairi/Namine love square cause Riku doesn't know what he wants. Other pairings I am not sure of, so don't bug me (as this has happened with my last story). I'm pretty much of a cannonist with the RiSo exception so don't get your hopes up. And there will be instances of rape, torture, some description of injuries, and swearing.... but probably nothing sexualy explicit (I'm not that kind of writer)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts, nor Final Fantasy. Square Enix does and I think they make to much money to sell it to me. That sound you hear in the background is not the sound of Riku bound and gaged. Nope, I did not kidnap him I swear.

**The Gifted**

**Prologue- Of the Light in the Dark**

Ancient texts say that when the goddess Gaia breathed life into the land she also breathed magick into the world as well. Magick seeped deep into the soil, and when man ate the fruits of the earth they took the magick into their bodies which in turn helped to sustain man.

Man was thrilled about this magick and sought ways to use it to enrich their lives. Study and practice soon gave way to the rise of The Gifted- those born with strong magick flowing through their veins. The Gifted were blessed by the four elemental goddesses with unique powers, some could manipulate the elements, others could protect and heal. Those touched with the special gifts of the moon god Lunniea could even anticipate the future and became great seers and prophets who aided both royalty and the common man alike. The Gifted and Non-Gifted lived side by side in harmony each helping the other. Society benefitted from the union and a great civilization rose and flourished.

But not all gifts were good. Along the way some stumbled upon the writings of the dark god Erebus and were swayed by the immense power they offered. They immediately sized the thrones of the many kingdoms of man and began a rein of terror as they subjugated the people. Resistance was met by death. But alas, after a brief but tumultuous time the dark monarchs fell at the weight of their own power and the dark times seemed to end.

Now instead of being celebrated, the Gifted were now feared as hysteria swept the Non-Gifted and they decided that all magick was evil. The Gifted were forced to hide their power and were often segregated off into splinter societies, many of which fled to the vast deserts of the land where they flourished as nomadic herders. The prophets wept at the sad state of the world and prayed to Lunniea for an answer.

Finally it came. The prophets were graced by a vision of a boy bathed in light holding a mighty sword. He could manipulate all elements in ways never seen before. He was strong and brave, but also kind- a child of the slums. They called him "Corllinn Thalon" which in their ancient tongue meant _"Legendary Light Blade's Keeper."_

For hundreds of years they awaited him, and watched as the rift between the Gifted and the not grew deeper. The boy that brought hope became but a story told to children.

After the centuries flew by, a King rose whose rein brought glimpse of what could be. Ansem the Wise was in love with learning and built at the center of his grand city a university and temple to the goddess of the wind Sophia whose name meant Knowledge. He embraced the Gifted and welcomed the last of the great prophets into his palace to help guide him.

The peace wouldn't last as a dark cloud grew over the kingdom. One night the king's favorite student slew his mentor and declared himself king. He used the power he gained from studying the dark texts to manipulate the people and strike fear into their hearts.

A dark year pasted and the last great prophet stood at the foot of the false king, dressed in robes the likes of which no one present had ever seen. He was bathed in the god touched glow of the moon, and spoke in a clear, but mocking tone, refusing to accept the rule of the man before him, and knowing full well the words he spoke meant death.

"How dare you sit on that sacred throne when you have touched the forbidden tomes?" he cried.

"You speak likes!" the King exclaimed.

"Lies? Your entire existence is but a lie, you who gained the old king's trust on lies and slew him here on this very spot! Let it be known now the blade of the Chosen One now seeks your head! You can do with me as you wish, but my blood will call to him and three years from now the light will pierce the dark when Corllinn Thalon will take your heart!"

"Silence traitor!"

"I will not yield as long as the sacred wind of Sophia fills my lungs and Lunniea's grace lights my way! And when you kill me my words will remain! Let all who stand here in the sacred hall of Ansem the Wise hear the ancient words inscribed in my heart:

_"Even in the deepest darkness,_

_There will always be a light._

_Those who cling falsely to power,_

_Will fall at the blade of the god's chosen son._

_The fates bond boy to sword._

_Blessed by goddess' gifts times four,_

_And a second heart guides him on._

_As eyes unseeing prepare the path._

_Bathed in heaven's glow he rides forth,_

_To raise the hopes of those suppressed._

_With sacred blade brandished high,_

_The heart of the false monarch he will take,_

_To satisfy both god and man alike._

_Corllinn Thalon will be his name,_

_Praised both from land and sky!"_

"You speak but of a children's tale. You've awaited Corllinn Thalon for hundreds of years, and for hundreds of years more you will wait again. If it's death you want than I will grant it!" the king spoke.

The gathered crowed applauded his words and jeered at the prophet who stood his ground.

"Now size him! Tonight my friends will be the end of this mad seer. A boy so in love with a children's tale that he couldn't even foresee the foolishness of his own king!"

With that the king's guards dragged the prophet away to the dungeons where the proud seer was stripped of his finery, beaten, and defiled.

While the fiendish guards took delight in their sport, the king sat upon his ill-gotten chair and fretted long and hard. Those words had struck fear in the coward's heart. He know all to well the power of the gods and their oracles. Not one had ever been proven wrong.

Deep in his thoughts, the dark god spoke to his servant, and soon those fears were struck from the king's foul mind. He began to plot ways to stop any child from rising above him. He'd use the people's own paranoia of the Gifted as his weapon. Anyone who exhibited ancient magick would instantly be found, and instead their power would go to him and he would grow stronger. The Chosen One's gift would be his own.

When the clock struck midnight the false King strode into the dungeons deep, followed by his entourage, where the prophet lay prostrated on the executioner's stone. He gave the order and the agent of death raised his blade.

"Stop!" came a woman's cry, and foreword stepped a young witch, the prophet's kin. "Please spare him!"

"And what would you do for me?" asked the King.

"If you spare his life I can erase his mind! With his memory blank he will live, and thus no words can be said. No blood will spill and no gods will you provoke. Corllinn Thalon will sleep at bay!" she spoke.

The king considered the witch's offer as she stood before him nervously. It was a desperate gamble that she proposed. What she could take she could restore, although time would not be on her side. If the precious chain could be reassembled in three years time the prophet could still cry out to the gods, and maybe then Corllinn Thalon would still rise to meet his destiny.

The king was amused at the proposal, and a sadistic plan formed in his mind.

"Then witch, do the deed!" he declared.

Reluctantly she stepped forward and cupped the prophet's head in her hands. She focused her mind and muttered an ancient forbidden charm. The prophet's mind twisted and soon he forgot the essence of his own being. The witch cried out in pain at her own deed.

The guards cut loose the once great seer from his bindings and the witch pulled him into her arms. His broken body was limp and he looked about like a lost child. All those who gathered there laughed and mocked the pair, as the king sneered and ordered them apart.

The skies grew dark as storm clouds closed in on the kingdom. The girl was locked into a cell- the king deciding that her memory manipulation was too valuable to loose. He would test his power sizing plan on her first. The boy was handed over to the guards to dispose of, seeing as now he was rendered useless. In jest they threw him into the castle moat, where he struggled and thrashed in the torrent until his weak confused body could move no more.

The moon god Lunniea watched from his celestial perch and wept tears of rain for his servant. Three days passed and the great spirit mourned. Finally he looked back down on the earth and his eyes grew wide.

At last the ancient power had found a vessel. That day the sun rose to the dawn of a new age.

**The Gifted**

**Chapter One- Of Strangers**

Hollow Bastion was a city of contrasts, and right before everyone it was changing. In the center of the city stood the grand palace of the new king Xemnas, and outside it's walls was the sprawling central slum known as the Inner District. The Outer District that ringed the city housed the city's nobility with richly furnished mansions with lush gardens. The whole city lay in a wide costal basin, a natural harbor with a bustling sea port that brought goods from the city and surrounding farmlands to neighboring kingdoms. On the outside of the city limits fertile fields and small villages spread out till they met the rolling foothills of the mountains that served as the city's natural protection. Beyond the mountains lay a barren wasteland of desert inhabited by bands of traveling nomads.

The past year had been one of turmoil. The old king had passed away and with no male heir a fight over the throne had ensued amongst the king's foremost advisors. A few who sought the throne raised private troops and they clashed with the castle's security force- dozens died and finally one man came out on top.

Or so was the official position from those who had risen to power. The details from the survivors didn't match up, and there had been a movement to hush up any rumors that proved to be degrading to the new regime. And in that year- all public speculation had ended as if nothing different had happened.

No one seemed to notice the changes anymore, except for a select few who plotted in secret to bring down the king who they knew in their hearts to be illegitimate. They kept their watchful eyes on the city, looking out for the subtle signs of the king's heavy hand. The populace remained oblivious, but slowly the changes were happening.

One boy did notice the changes, though. The air that had once been thick with Magick now was thin, devoid of the magical currents that sustained life. But no one believed him when he said anything. After all he was just a naive child- what did he know?

"Can you just add it to our account?" the boy asked.

The butcher blinked a few times nervously. The boy before him smiled- a sad pleading smile, his blue eyes tired. He wasn't the most remarkable child ever. He was short for a young man of seventeen and still rather boyish at that, with a mess of brownish- copper hair that stuck out at all angles despite any tries to comb it. The brown linen shirt and pants he wore were worn and patched, and slightly too small. His boots had holes and were crudely sewn back together. Yet those eyes- a blue that mirrored the color of the sky. He supposed that's what had inspired his mother to name him as she did.

"Please sir, we'll try to pay for it. It's just mother and us children now...."

It was the truth. It had become well known in the Inner District that the husband of the district healer had been killed defending the castle. The details surrounding his death- like all the details surrounding the new king- were unclear. Yet it was apparent that the Haruki family had seen better days.

"Alright, but I can't keep on doing this," he replied sectioning off a portion of salt beef and wrapping it in parchment with a mental note not to look into those eyes ever again.

"Thank you very much," the oldest Haruki boy said smiling.

He then ran off with a slight jaunt to his step. The butcher stood and watched him weave his way through the thick crowd past stalls brimming with trade goods both mundane and exotic, where merchants worked to hawk goods to the public. Eventually the boy the tired merchant passed off as ordinary wound his way out of sight.

However, the boy caught the sharp green eyes of another merchant who sat behind a counter of brightly colored woven goods strumming a few cords on an stringed instrument that resembled a blue painted guitar. He stopped mid song and cracked a smile as he watched the boy ran off.

The blonde resumed playing after a time, his song reminding him of blue skies, sand dunes and the gentle heat of the morning spent out in the pasture watching the clouds and his family's flock. It was a traditional melody of his people and unlike anything he could hear around him.

The man was not from the city, instead his home was a small village on the banks of a river that wound it's way through the otherwise barren wasteland of dessert that ringed the farthest regions of the kingdom. His people were driven out to the dessert centuries earlier- the only reason being that they all were able to manipulate the Magicks running deep in their blood.

Magick filled his people- those who the city dwellers called the Al-Bhed for the language they spoke. Magick shaped their lives and helped them adapt to the conditions they lived in. If the rain didn't come, they prayed to their gods and then they made rain. They derived their powers from a deep respect for the earth, nature, and reverence to the gods of the Moon and Sun. The earth was a sacred vessel, nature it's child, and they- the children of the gods- were creation's caretakers.

The people of the city feared what they could not understand. They viewed all Magick and those that used it as in league with demons and all that was dark. What they didn't realize was that their fear allowed the very thing they ran from into their hearts. The darkness was engulfing the city.

_"We live in dark times. There are other places where the essence of our life blood is frowned on. I want to find a way to end it. I want to find the light in the darkness. There is someone out there- some call him the Chosen One, others the God-Touched. For me he will always have one name- Corllinn Thalon- and he is the embodiment of godly light," _he remembered someone wise once saying.

In fact that person was his own younger brother, a young man who at the age of ten had given his life to the study of the sacred teachings of the Moon god. In return the great spirit had gifted him with the most sacred of Magicks- the power to see the future- a future that showed the coming of a man who would bring peace and understanding between his people and those who lived in the city.

His brother had left the desert at age eighteen in search of the further wisdom of the gods and had been welcomed into the court of the last king. He had come to the city to peddle his family's goods, and to speak with his brother, but instead been turned away and laughed at by the palace guards.

Their actions disheartened him, but seeing that boy had lifted his mood slightly.

"Feba dryd csema uvv ouin vyla. Dra baubma sekrd drehg fa'na dnoehk du bimm y vycd uha," came a woman's voice in an otherwise strange language. He instantly understood her speech as: _"Wipe that smile off your face. The people might think we're trying to pull a fast one."_

"Gemm sa fro tuh'd oui, Larxene. E teth'd ghuf oui fana pylg!" or _"Kill me why don't you, Larxene. I didn't know you were back,"_ he whined running a hand through sandy blond spikes. He was annoyed at her intrusion into his thoughts. "We shouldn't be speaking like this here."

"I know, I know. Stupid uncultured twits. _Huh-Kevdat! _And they call us animals. Makes me want to start a storm right here. Want to help?" she snarked a spark of lightning flickering across her fingertips. "Anyways, I had to be sneaky Demyx, or I'd give everything away."

"No storms here. What if someone saw?" Demyx asked flicking water droplets that had formed on his fingers towards her to her frustration. "What did city division have to say? I couldn't talk with brother. The guards laughed and told me to go back to where I came from."

"He's not at the palace anymore, from what that weird Cloud guy said. The idiot opened his mouth before they could rescue him. Pissed the big guy off. They're afraid he's been killed, being one of us 'heathens' and all," Larxene said with an air of annoyance.

"Tyshed! He would have been a help to the resistance," the man exclaimed to the fright of some passers by.

"And what of your daughter?"

"Missing as well."

His heart sank at her news. His own brother was presumed dead. Granted he was only his half brother and ten years separated their ages, but he had practically raised the kid when their father abandoned him. He had risen on his own to become well respected, and now it seemed his life had been cut short for spreading the truth around. After all from what he had said, he had witnessed the old king's death under mysterious circumstances- a fact that the new king had been quick to cover.

His sister seemed unfazed about the revelations she had made, which was typical for her. Their family had gone through a series of upheavals, and their father was long considered crazy for his strict traditional views on family and marriage, views that lead to several remarriages- some to close relatives, many children, and crumbling finances plus all the problems that came with inbreeding. She had been forced to marry young, and the bastard of a husband couldn't handle the pressures of their large family on top of his social responsibilities- and left her. Now she showed little outward emotion except for anger and annoyance and was prone to exploding when everyone least expected it. Something he assumed was fueled by her innate gift of Storm Magick.

"Hey sis what do you make of that kid over there?" he asked motioning in the boy he had seen earlier's direction. The petite brunette boy was currently helping a woman who appeared to be his mother load parcels unto a small mule driven cart.

"Looks just like a goofy idiot. I hate kids," she replied.

"Why did you have so many then?"

"You know the answer to that and if you don't then I'll kill you." she replied annoyed.

* * *

"I got the meat on credit," the boy announced triumphantly.

"Oh, thank you Sora," his mother replied taking the parcel from him and placing it in the small cart along with baskets of vegetables and other goods.

Aerith Haruki looked at her son, his simple happiness was infectious. She helped him up onto the seat of the cart and sat down next to him. With a flip of the reins she then drove the cart out of the market.

The city was set up with the castle in the center which was built over a wide swift moving river that emptied out in to Bastion Harbor, on the other side of the castle. The Inner District ringed the interior wall of the castle, while Bastion Port ringed the outer wall and harbor. The market in the inner district was situated along the castle wall so that goods could be directly shipped inward.

As they drove Aerith noticed that the garbage from the previous three days of rain had accumulated and was currently choking off the flow of the river. Clean up was only just beginning, as workers lined the bank readying a barge for transport.

Sora was less interested in the river and instead was concentrating on ways to potentially get out of sword training that afternoon. Just then there was a sharp pain in his chest and his ears began to ring.

_"Are you the chosen one?"_ a girl's voice asked through the ringing.

His breath was knocked out of him and he wasn't even sure if the voice was real.

"_Go to the river! You have to help him! Please!" _the voice pleaded.

And just as soon as it began the pain, and the noise vanished.

"Mom, stop!" Sora suddenly cried, gaining his air back.

Aerith had no other choice but to comply as the boy who had just been heaving for air, suddenly vaulted himself over the seat edge and ran towards the river's bank.

"Sora what are you doing?" she exclaimed as he began to frantically paw through the bales.

"I saw something!" he yelled back.

A crowd had begun to form on the bank as he continued his frantic search. Finally he lunged forward, body precariously hanging over the river's edge. She saw him pull a white arm out of the jumble, and with a heave he pulled a body from the water and dragged them to safety. Aerith dismounted and ran towards her boy.

"Alright everyone let's give the poor thing some privacy. Nothing to look at here," she announced.

There were a few murmurs from those gathered there to gawk, but soon the road cleared, and all that could be heard was the quiet rushing of water from the river, and the sounds of the workers at the bank.

Sora dragged the stranger to a flat spot on the cobblestone road and laid them down, taking a knee beside them as he began to survey the body.

The first discernible feature of the figure was a mess of long tangled silvery white hair. Aerith sat down on the ground and gingerly turned the stranger over, resting their head on her lap, and clearing the hair from the face.

He was male, and surprisingly young for one with such color hair- a boy of around Sora's age with an almost feminine face, soft cheekbones, sharp nose, defined chin, and pale skin, bruising marring the softness of his features.

He was unconscious with weak breathing and an erratic heartbeat. She was not sure if it was from the beating his body had taken or the condition of his subsequent abandonment in the water. For what ever reason he was in terrible shape- emaciated, with a fever and several tender and swollen areas all over his body. His right ankle was especially swollen indicating a possible break.

He bore no particular marks of rank, his clothes were too large for his body and were made of simple brown cloth with a rough weave and were torn and dirty. Upon close inspection she discovered a pouch hanging from his belt. It was of woven fabric with a gradiated banding of colors of rosy orange, light blue, and royal blue running across it's width. She pulled open the drawstring and found a small scroll printed with now illegible writing, and a several glass beads of the same colors of the pouch plus a few star and moon shaped silver charms. The last item was an intricate silver pendant hanging from a chain. It's over all design was of two circles that formed a crescent shape, and further examination revealed an inscription in an ancient unknown script. It was an obviously personal piece as it was the only item on his body that could potentially identify him. She'd have to take it to the district's elder later to see if the script could be discerned.

"Sora, clear a space in the cart. He's going to need a lot more attention then what I can give here," she said stuffing the pouches contents back in and placing the whole thing in her pocket.

The boy did as he was asked and began to stack the parcels of food against the side of the wagon box. When he was done, under Aerith's direction he picked the stranger up by the shoulders and moved him towards the cart as she supported his legs. The laid him into the cart, sitting him up and using the parcels to cushion his body.

"Are we going to take him home? What about the kids?" Sora asked.

"If I can keep constant watch on him he'll recover. He just needs rest, food, and plenty of care. It's nothing I can't handle. Sora, you can look after the children for me," she replied as she began to drive the cart towards home.

She didn't have much faith in her own words- she was a healer, not a miracle worker and certainly no doctor. It was no lie to her that the boy was on the verge of death. But he deserved more dignity than dyeing on a river bank. She'd give him a bed and the best fighting chance at life that she could give.

The journey home was long, Aerith choosing a route that insured a mostly smooth ride, but took them further out of their way. Their passenger stirred a few times, moaning if they hit a bump, but every time Sora looked back to check on him, his eyes were firmly closed, head resting limply to the side.

"He'll be fine," Aerith assured a few times. "You did a good thing Sora, I'm proud of you."

"It's weird mom. I almost feel like I was called to rescue him. Like a voice inside my head."

"A voice? And what did the pixies steal your good shoes again?" she teased.

"MOM!" he exclaimed elbowing her.

After that there was silence as they made their way towards their home.

The Haruki home was located in the middle of one of the poorer parts of the Inner District, but luckily that borough escaped much of the crime that plagued other parts of the District. Due to Aerith's profession as a healer, the family enjoyed the respect of their neighbors and their home was small but tidy. Aerith's late husband had been a palace guard and worked hard to provide the home for the family- denying an offer to move into the palace's working quarters so Aerith could remain with her patients that she had grown up with. The personal pride he put into their home showed as the plaster walls had been freshly painted before his death and a rare flower garden graced the front of the house.

When they arrived the two of them ran inside. Aerith ushered her children into the small backyard to play with much protest from the little ones. Sora followed her inside and set about to ready bedding for their guest.

It was a small house with one room, partially divided so the kitchen was separate, but the hearth still heated the living area. They had very little furniture save for a few chests for belongings and a table in the kitchen for preparing food. Most of the time they spent inside was sitting on cushions on the wood floor- the one luxury that their father could afford.

They were a simple family. No one complained about the lack of luxuries because they hadn't known anything else. Aerith earned a tidy income from her work, and with winter approaching she was heading into her busy season. Sora and his younger brother Tidus were pretty much guarantied jobs in the District security force if they followed in their father's footsteps, and Sora was already showing promise with his practice weapon. He'd most likely enter into training after he came of age at eighteen and that day was less than a year away. Not to mention that he had a few magical skills that he inherited from his mother- despite the fact that he was untrained and rather prone to accidents because of the untapped magic running through his body. Aerith had hoped to apprentice him to one of the district's mages but they all wanted to much money in exchange for training and there was a strict taboo on magic use.

Sora bent over a chest in the far corner of the room and found the family's most comfortable sleeping mat and unfolded it close to the hearth.

Aerith soon returned inside, this time carrying the stranger gingerly in her arms. She laid him down on the mat using a floor cushion to prop up his head. The ride had clearly jostled him, and he was showing signs of coming to consciousness- moving his head restlessly and making weak attempts at swatting Aerith's hands away as she prodded his body for signs of injury.

Sora retrieved her healer's kit for her and she worked to quickly stabilize and wrap his swollen ankle after he cried in pain when she pressed on it. She felt bad for distressing him and murmured a quick comfort spell to calm him, before she elevated the injury with another cushion.

It was now getting past noon time and Sora prepared a quick meal for his siblings and joined them outside to keep them busy and allow Aerith the concentration she needed to work on her patient.

His thoughts kept on drifting to the pale haired stranger inside though. He didn't know who the other boy was but he had felt some kind of a connection to him, like some part of his being knew him. It was an odd sensation and he quickly dismissed it as sympathy. He also picked up on a strong magic running through the other boy that peaked his curiosity. Not many others showed that kind of gift and just maybe he'd finally have someone to share in his growing powers with.

Part of him was thrilled to have another boy his age in his house as most of his peers had either entered training for their chosen professions or been sent out to the farmlands as laborers. Children in Hollow Bastion grew up to quickly to meet the reality of the harsh lives they were to lead and he almost envied his younger siblings for their still carefree attitudes. He loved being a child and most saw him as naive almost to a fault for trying to hold on as long as he could. Despite that he could just as easily accept the responsibilities handed to him after his father's death. He was now the man of the house and was now looked to to hold his head up and become that man.

As his thoughts wandered, night fell and he ushered the children back inside. He helped his younger sister Selphie cook a dinner of watery stew and worked to keep his younger siblings from bothering Aerith. After the dinner was finished the children settled down in the living area for the night.

Sora approached his mother afterwards with a bowl of stew and offered it to her. She had long since finished tending to her patient, and exhausted her supply of bandages as well as healing and comfort spells looking after him. He had exerted himself to much from trying to fight her, his fevered state fogging his mind making him behave irrationally, and now he was sleeping comfortably underneath the weight of a thick blanket.

His condition was still unstable and she didn't want to leave him in this state, and had since taken to combing out his hair gently. The silvery tresses now fell in soft feathery layers that accentuated his face although there was a large irregular patch of hair on the right side of his face that looked like it had hastily been cut off with out much regard to his appearance.

"How is he?" Sora asked.

Aerith took the bowl from Sora and set it down beside her. Lifting the boy's head, she began to spoon the broth in to his mouth massaging the back of his neck to ease it down.

"As soon as this fever passes he should be fine with enough rest and food," she replied repeating her earlier assertion.

"What do you think happened to him?" he wondered.

"Looks like he got beaten up pretty badly and then just left there to die if no one found him. I'm sure he'll have an interesting story to tell when he feels better," she replied.

She finished spooning off the broth for him and finished the bowl off by eating the bits of beef and vegetables that were left.

Sora fetched her sleeping mat for her, and then decided it was best for him to join his siblings on the other side of the partition.

The oldest of his younger siblings- Tidus was sprawled out on his back on his mat. He was fifteen years old and lacked the maturity of his age- taking his father's death especially hard.

Selphie- an awkwardly romantic girl of eleven- was leaning on her elbows waiting for Sora. He could see the two small blonde heads of his youngest siblings poking out from the blanket over her mat.

"Vaan is sleeping with you tonight?" he asked.

"I guess."

"I dunt want to sleep wit Tidus. He kicks," came the sleepy reply from the youngest boy of three.

Usually he slept with Sora but since their guest was sleeping on Sora's mat he had curled up with Selphie and his other sister, Penello of seven, leaving Sora to sleep with Tidus who had violent nightmares and usually slept alone.

Sora sat down next to Tidus and gently rolled him onto his side. He mumbled something about hating their father before settling down. Sora lay down next to him, sighing at another of Tidus's murmured remarks.

"So what's he like?" Selphie asked.

"Who?" Sora replied.

"Mom's patient."

"He's just been sleeping the entire time."

"Is he handsome?"

"I don't look at other guys."

"What does he look like then?" she giggled.

"He's got long white hair. I don't know, I guess he's kinda pretty," Sora replied slightly annoyed.

"Men aren't pretty, silly."

"For a lack of a better word he is."

"You must be tired if you're calling guys pretty."

"You have no idea."

"Shut up and sleep," Tidus mumbled as he turned over right on top of his brother.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

In a place vastly different yet really not to far from where the Haruki family had curled up for the night a young girl woke up n a daze on the ground, the smell of moldy straw instantly assaulting her nose. Her small frame shivered from the could raw air, making the ache she felt all over her body that much worse. On top of everything she just had the strongest sense of having been violated both mentally and physically.

She had done something horrible- guilt welled up from the pit of her stomach, and it felt like a monster had taken refuge there and now was threatening to eat her insides. She could not comprehend which felt worse- the fact she felt like something terrible had been done to her or the guilt she felt over what she had been made to do.

The girl drew herself up into a sitting position and cast her gaze about the room small dark room. The only light coming in was moonlight filtering through a small slit of a window- and it made the room glow an eerie blue. From what she could see she was locked in a cell in a dungeon, the rough stone walls damp with moisture from the sewers.

She was alone- no sign of the person she had kept a constant watch over. She could only imagine what had become of him.

_"So witch I can see why you hid this gift of yours for so long. But don't worry I have the most marvelous use for it. It won't go wasted for much longer. Thank you for helping give your beloved the punishment he deserved,"_ She remembered in horror.

Dread began to surface along with her guilt.

"What have I done?" She asked out loud to no one in particular. She expected no response but secretly hoped and wished for that familiar sarcastic yet reassuring voice she craved to hear, the voice that would let her know that everything was all right.

Nothing.

She cried. She had destroyed him. It was her fault he wasn't there. Tears that started as tiny drops soon became rivers that ran down her face.

"I'm so sorry," she wailed.

* * *

Sora awoke in the middle of the night, when a loud crack of thunder shook the house. There was a chill in the air and an eerie blue glow permitted the darkness. He glanced about him, his eyes adjusting quickly to the darkness. Tidus had rolled over on his side away from him taking the blanket with him. He almost felt alone.

He was about to curl up closer to his brother, when he felt a strong urge to stand up and walk over to the other side of the house. He wanted to ignore it but the more he lay there the more commanding the urge grew and he couldn't ignore it any longer. As he reached the partition, he glanced over to the back entry way. The door had been blown open, and shrouded in an almost ethereal light and silhouetted by the rain was a pure white cat sitting majestically in the door frame. It almost seemed to be more of apparition than a reality.

Sora wanted to investigate the animal, but movement caught his eye followed by a low whine coming from the direction of the hearth. The fire had died down because of the rain, and he knew putting a log on was rather pointless but he did it anyway. He needed the light.

The fire sprang to life, almost as if it was somehow now protected from the rain that had put it out. Once he could see what he was doing he glanced about the kitchen. Aerith was fast asleep sitting up which only meant one thing to him- she had completely used up her healing magic and exhausted herself.

Her patient however was looking far worse as he lay there covered in a thick sweat, and moving his head listlessly from side to side. The boy's fever was growing and Sora could not wake Aerith up until morning- otherwise she would not be able to recharge her magic. He panicked for a second before the rational part of his mind took over.

His first instinct told him that he had to cool the patient down. Aerith had left a basin of water out by the hearth along with a few dry washcloths. He wet one and after folding it over he placed it over the other boy's forehead. The effect seemed to work almost instantly and he calmed.

There were times in the past where he had watched his mother with her patients and although he lacked her talent, he had learned much from her. Enough so that she trusted him as an assistant at times. However, it almost seemed as if some unknown force, rather than knowledge, was guiding him towards what he had to do.

The patient seemed to be settling down now and as he looked over the boy's face in the dim fire light he noticed that the boy's lips were awfully dry and he remembered Aerith saying the one thing that helped with fever the most was keeping the patient hydrated. There was a cup beside his mat, but after Sora filled it with water he found that the liquid just dribbled down the boy's chin. Disheartened he wasn't sure what he could do.

_"Ice chips," _a girl's voice reverberated inside his mind. It was the same voice as before- the one that told him to run to the river. _"Feed him ice chips. It always works."_

"Ice?" he asked. "I can't get ice! It's past midnight!"

_"If you're the chosen one then you can make some! I know you can," _she insisted.

"How?"

_"With magick silly!"_

Magick- he hardly used it, and he lacked the ability to control it. In this moment though, he was desperate, and he could try anything.

"Please, help me help him," he cried.

_"I'll try."_

Sora felt an energy well up from with in him. His limbs tingled with it as the energy spread from the pit of his stomach and out wards to his hands and feet.

He glanced over at the basin of water, and a soft mewing sound- almost like an encouragement- filled his ears. The cat- It was still sitting in the doorway where he had last seen it. Curious he made to walk over to it, but the animal made a bowing gesture and ran off into the rain.

The storm still raged over head as more cracks of thunder permeated the silence. He hated thunderstorms and tried to suppress his fears, returning his thoughts to his patient and the task before him.

"_You can do it. I know you can," _the girl assured.

He centered his energy much in the way he had seen his mother do before. He concentrated on his desire to help the unknown boy and how much he hated it when people suffered.

He reached out to the basin and dipped his fingers into the water. The liquid grew shockingly cold and an ice crystal formed in his fingers. Cupping the crystal in his fingers he then pressed it to the boy's lips. As it melted he could see the water went right into the boy's mouth. He repeated the gesture several times before taking the boy's hand in his own and muttering a few words of encouragement before he curled up next to the boy, resting his head on the other's chest.

A few hours passed like that, Sora almost falling asleep with the rhythmic sound of the boy's heartbeat filling his head. The boy had relaxed completely now, and he felt an immense sense of satisfaction that he had helped the boy. If anything Sora just wanted the boy to know that someone was there for him.

The story outside though was completely different as the storm continued to rage overhead. For a time the thunder had ceased but just as suddenly as the storm had started another round of low booms filled the valley that was Hollow Bastion. Sora had reached a point where he was calm enough not to be bothered but as the booming grew closer, it began to disturb the boy who's fever still burned deep with in his mind. He began to grow restless again and Sora picked himself up and tried to calm him with no avail. Turning once again to the basin he dipped his fingers in.

Just then there was an almost blinding flash of lightning and the house shook from a boom of thunder. The boy's body sized, his impaired mind unable to comprehend the real threat of the storm. Sora panicked and tried to rush the freezing process.

Suddenly he felt an unknown power take over him and it fed on his desire to calm the boy down. He tried to shake it but soon found that not only had his hand frozen over in the water, but that his body and his will froze as well. There was suddenly a loud crash outside as if it now was raining needles. The temperature around him grew stifling cold.

Sora could feel all the energy in his body drain as it flowed into the other boy, his limbs grew heavy and his head felt like it could explode. And just as soon as the feeling began it was over. His body collapsed forward, sprawling it's self on top of the other boy, and he fell into a deep sleep.

From its perch just outside the doorway, the cat watched the entire event. It felt bad for using the smaller boy in such a way, but mostly it had been his own desire to help that had set everything in motion. Now everything that could be done in the moment had transpired. What was left was now to wait.

It trotted over to the two sleeping boys, and delicately lay one of it's paws on the white haired boy's forehead. The fever was gone. The other had done his part and played it well. Moving over to where Sora lay it whispered in his ear:

_"Thank you for taking care of my servant, I have no doubt in my mind now. You are him," _it mewed.

It then ran off into the clearing storm, becoming a silvery stream of energy rushing off from the surface of the world towards the sky.

* * *

From her cell the young blonde haired girl saw the silver arc as it made it's way into the sky. Her blue eyes filled with wonder and awe for a part of her knew exactly what it was. She stood up and walked towards the window as the arc disappeared into the clearing storm clouds. As it did so the clouds moved away from where they had been obscuring the moon, it's bright crescent shape now bathed the world in gentle moonlight.

She dropped to her knees in reverent prayer to the god whose sign she just saw.

_"I hale to thee Lunniea- Prince of the moon, Dream Giver, and Lord of the never-ending cycle. Through your grace I pray to thee. Reveal to thyself, thine humble servant, the path this one must take to right this wrong I have caused to your holiness."_

Stretching her arms out wide and closing her eyes, she waited as she knelt there. Soon her body felt heavy and she curled up on the cell floor and gave herself over to the Dream Giver.

_"Naminé?" called a disembodied male voice. It was familiar, yet distorted. The darkness of sleep condensed upon itself and a grey mist began to form around her. Walls encircled her, and she found herself in a richly decorated room. She knew this place. It was her own memory. She stepped forward as the tile floor formed. In front of her sat a robed figure with shoulder length hair over which was pinned a opaque veil. He was sitting in front of a lavishly appointed shrine- the centerpiece of which was a statue of a robed figure bearing a large broadsword, and wearing a crescent shaped headdress- the god Lunniea. Potted white lilies surrounded the statue as well as a ring of lighted pillar candles. The smell of burning sage reached her and she could hear the sound of a quill pen scratching parchment._

_"Yes dear?" she asked._

_"He came to me last night in a dream," the young man's voice answered.._

_"And?"_

_"The darkness will end. But I'm afraid my life will as well."_

_"No!" she cried._

_"I've accepted my fate. I am a servant of the people. I must go to the king- the false king- and utter the Prayer of Calling. For that he will kill me."_

_"Is there any other way?"_

_"In order for the Prayer to work the king has to hear it from my lips in front of his court. And then in three years time Corllinn will awaken."_

_Her heart sank for the second time at hearing his words._

_"'_As eyes unseeing prepare the path'_ that is my fate and I will not back down. Lunniea will welcome me into his holy court with open arms. And I cannot let that bastard win. I am not afraid to confront the darkness."_

_"You're a prophet not a martyr!"_

_"Sometimes fate dictates that I be both. I put the rest in your hands. I am leaving my testament here for those who need it. When I leave you must set a barrier to protect this room. I've also sent my familiar out to find the boy. When she does you will see a sign. Watch over him, treat him the way you'd treat me."_

_With that he stood a glow forming around his body. His many robes touching the floor and forming a train that pooled around him. He looked more like a statue than anything else as wide sashes in colors of silver, blue, and muted purple, were tied around his waist and long sleeves cascaded from his shoulders to obscure his hands. The veil on head dripped down the sides of his face. His white hair peaked out from underneath, a lock of which was braided and decorated with tri-colored beads as was customary for those of their heritage. He walked towards her leaning his weight on a staff of white colored wood carved with an intricate design of angel's and demon wings and ending with a jeweled crescent moon at the top._

_He reached out to her and pulled her into an embrace, resting his head for a brief moment on her shoulder as they held each other. After the brief moment of closeness, he then brought his hand up to her face and she looked into his eyes before he kissed her._

_"How many times have you been kissed by a God-Touched?" he said before he left the room. _

Her vision swirled and condensed again, and when she woke she was back in that lonely cell with the thought of her last intimate moment with her love fresh in her mind. Before her heart had been filled with doubt over what she had done- she had broken a vow and used a dark power to erase the mind of the man she loved. Now thanks to the vision granted to her, she remembered why she had done the deed- she had done it to save him, and the suffering he was soon to feel was not in vain.

"You found a way to save him," an other voice reverberated in her mind. It wasn't the voice of her love, but one strikingly similar, just only softer. "And trust me he has been saved. Now he resides with my Chosen One himself. You took apart his mind. It wasn't easy for you or for him. But you now have the task to restore it. Three years he will spend with Corllinn, thus three years you have to restore him. Everything rests in your hands."

"Thank you my lord," she said as tears ran down her face. "And I know you can't hear me, but I'm sorry, _Riku."_

_- hope you enjoyed please comment and critique!  
_


	2. Chapter 2 of Wakenings

**Author's Notes:** Yay chapter two! I wanted to upload this last weekend but something popped up and I wasn't able to finish the last piece of this till today. Enjoy! and if you like this please comment and tell me what you think and what you might like to see in the future.

**Disclaimer**: As stated earlier I do not own Kingdom Hearts or the Final Fantasy series- Squeenix does. No that is not the sound of Sora yelling at me for kidnapping his boyfriend and holding him for ransom.

**The Gifted  
Chapter Two- Of Wakenings**

_"Sora!" he heard a female voice call. _

_He was drifting, floating, in a vast sea of dream-world- it's thick velvety fog surrounding him and filling his senses so that all earthly sensation was dulled. _

_The girl's voice filled the dream-mist, calling out to him. It was the same voice that had filled his mind before. Once to draw his attention to the river, the last beckoning him to come to the strange boy's aide. At times she called out to him, and he tried desperately to find her in the fog. Other times she called the name of another boy, although that call seemed more distant- more not of his own consciousness._

_"Riku!" the distant call rang. _

_The voice drifted in and out of his mind, mingling with the other call. His head was swimming, and he could hardly figure out which to follow though the dream fog. For how long he floated in this bizarre existence he did not know for he was losing all sense of time and for that matter existence in the tangible world._

_After a time he heard the soft sound of pattering feet from below him and he cast his gaze downwards to see the same white cat from earlier padding along as a black and white tiled floor materialized underneath its paws._

_When it reached a point in front of him, the animal stopped and turned around to look at him. In the fog Sora could see that the feline had two different colored eyes, one yellow, and one an icy blue. It was a small elegant cat, with a glossy coat of snowy fur. It turned back and crouched down before leaping upwards gracefully._

_Where it landed a bed covered in rich upholstery materialized underneath its nimble paws. The cat let out a soft cry to announce its presence._

_Before him, a room finished forming from within the dream-fog. The walls of the room were of stone, with the facing wall beyond the bed being formed of floor to ceiling leaded glass windows set with an intricate tracery of wrought iron that looked out to a balcony and a starlit sky beyond._

_There was a figure lying on the bed from the way the thick blankets draped over the form. Several worn books surrounded them, some lying open while others were closed shut. Lastly he could make out the figure of a young woman sitting on a wooden chair with her body draped over the bed. Her volumous skirts encircled her and flowed out onto the floor around her. Her berry red hair was pinned in an elaborate coif on top of her head and was finished off with a small jeweled tiara._

_Upon the cat's arrival she picked her head up and looked at the animal._

_"Lafrusi?" she asked running her hand through the long ruff of fur around the cat's neck. Her voice- it was the same voice that had been calling to Sora. _

_The cat meowed in reply. _

_"I'm worried about him," she spoke to the cat. "He wears himself out so easily. I know he's searching for his answer but I wish for one moment he'd be more selfish and think about himself."_

_A soft moan interrupted her and she turned her attention to the figure. Sora could just make out his features as moonlight flooded the room. It was the boy whom he rescued. She reached out and touched his face tenderly._

_"Riku?" she asked. "Are you alright?"_

_Sora wanted to step forward to further inspect the scene, but from behind him came the sound of footsteps. He turned around to find a girl running towards him, and he realized it was the same girl as the one who was tending to the boy on the bed. Confused- he turned his head back and forth between the scene and the new arrival. The red-head was present in both places._

_"I've been looking for you!" the double exclaimed with a smile._

_"Where am I?" Sora asked._

_"Inside my memories," she replied._

_"Your memories?" he exclaimed, baffled._

_"Yes. We share a heart. We're separate existences but we share a vessel right now."_

_"What?"_

_"I don't know what happened. But I'm here and I'm supposed to help you."_

_"Who is he?"_

_"Riku? I can't tell you about him. He has to remember on his own or else his mind will be forever injured."_

_"But you know who he is right? He's special to you I can see and feel it."_

_"Yes, Riku and I are very close."_

_"What's your name?" Sora asked._

_"Kairi." she said with a smile._

* * *

"Did you see the healer's house?"

"Ice! Covered in ice!"

It didn't take much for gossip to travel in Hollow Bastion when the houses were packed on top of one another and everyone had their hands busy in the kitchen and their faces pressed to the neighbor's windows.

So when the residents of the Inner district awoke to find a glistening sheet of ice covering the home of the young recently widowed healer- whispers spread like wildfire, and the words _Dark Magick_ were on the lips of every Bastionian housewife.

"Something happened in that storm last night," one busybody quipped while picking over fresh vegetables for sale.

"Well did you hear that Aerith took in a stranger yesterday?" the other asked offering a small amount of coin to the vendor in return for her purchases.

"Well, that stranger- my husband saw it happen- her eldest son practically leapt into the river. The boy they rescued- he had white hair. You know what that means right?" the first woman babbled.

"I always knew that Sora boy was odd- almost eighteen and hasn't taken interest in a wife. But yes, that's something bad right?" the second asked gathering her shopping basket into her arms.

"Those desert people, they worship the death god. The dark rituals they perform, it takes the color right out of their hair! The lighter the color the more devout they are to the dark!"

"So he must have caused the storm last night."

"No doubt. You can't trust the 'Gifted' ones. What is Aerith thinking? Putting her children in danger like that!"

"Wouldn't be the first mistake she's made. She's of noble birth but she threw her lot in with those Haruki boys, now they've left her high and dry."

"I heard Zack was killed leading a rebellion against the new king. The other two were in on it and that's why they've disappeared as well. It's too bad that family has such talent."

"Yes I know. Five kids with no father. No wonder the oldest is a queer. Aerith needs to remarry. Set an example for him, or he'll never make it in this wor...." she began.

"Will you two just shut up!" another woman who couldn't help but overhear their conversation interrupted, raising her voice almost as loud as the sound of her fists banging on the wooden counter of the vendor's stall. "Aerith Haruki is ten times the woman that you two are. No other person has done more for this district than her. When your children get sick this winter, you'll wonder why you ever spoke ill of her. That woman should be sainted!"

"Well, Miss Lockheart I think you should stick to your own business." one of them shot back, unaware of the hypocrite she was turning herself into.

"Maybe I will that way I won't hear you talk trash about my friends." the brunette replied as she watched the two hurry away, shaking her head the entire time.

"Honestly the audacity of her," one said as they retreated.

"So uncultured. I guess that's what comes when a woman, a woman!- owns a bar. No wonder our husbands come home late when she dresses like that," the other replied with a glance back.

The brunette- Tifa was her first name- just raised an eyebrow and shot a dirty look back in their direction before she turned around and walked in the direction of another vendor's stall, the hem of the long black skirt she was wearing billowing out behind her. She gave a downward glance at the blouse she wore and smiled slightly. The blouse was really a men's shirt and as such hung open slightly to reveal a peek at her ample bosom. She didn't care what others thought of the way she dressed or her occupation, and any criticism was generally met with a fist hitting the table.

Now, her mind off of the shopping she had to do, and instead she thought that maybe it was time to give her friend a visit, but after approaching the home and seeing a crowd gathering she knew that what the family needed right now was peace.

* * *

It was morning when Naminé awoke, having prayed until she fell asleep. The sun shining in the small cell was still inadequate to get a proper sense of where she was, although she could tell that it was down a hallway for she was beginning to hear footsteps off in the distance.

"Did you hear that there was a freak ice storm in the Inner District last night?" a man said in a deep monotone.

"Oh really?" another said more teasingly.

"The reports say that they think some kind of elemental running around."

"The boss isn't gonna be happy if there's Gifted around causing trouble."

"No, he isn't. Any sign that might undermine his authority will have to be dealt with."

"Don't look at me. I ain't doing something that messy!"

She could hear the two guards- or so they seemed from the way their boots thudded on the stone floor- nearing her cell. There was a jingle of metal on metal as the cell door was unlocked and the two unsavory looking men walked in.

"Well lookie what we have here," one of them said.

He had a mane of red spiked hair, cat like green eyes with diamonds tattooed underneath, sharp facial features and a sly smirk. From the way they dressed she now could tell that they were more than guards- they were from the king's personal entourage- as they were dressed mostly in black. He happened to be wearing a trench coat that hung open in a lazy manor, showing a glimpse of a white linen shirt and studded belt underneath. She also noticed that around his neck was a black leather collar with a charm of a stylized flame hanging off of it.

"So this is the witch eh?" he asked.

"Apparently. Doesn't look like much does she?" his companion said.

He was a formidable stern faced man with long blue hair, pointed ears and two intersecting diagonal scars across the bridge of his nose. He also wore a black trench coat but his was buttoned up in the front in the manor of the typical palace guards.

"Whelp missy I don't know what King Xemnas wants with you but your coming with us," the red head said.

"Mommy, mommy! Something's wrong with Sora!" came the exclamation as Aerith was shaken awake.

Normally the sight of her youngest daughter in the morning, with her wide eyes and her blonde hair falling out of its twin braids, would have brought a smile to Aerith's face. But there was an urgency in her tiny voice and in the way that she was shaking her that made her heart jump.

She felt groggy, and as she picked herself up out of the position she had fallen asleep in she became well aware that she hadn't meant to succumb in the fashion she did. Somehow- she had used her magick up during the night. She never allowed herself to become drained- it was too dangerous.

She thought back to the past night. Her patient's fever had peaked and she had been holding him to ease the terror he must have felt as the illness had gripped his mind and body. During that time she had felt herself gradually lose control over her mind as she rocked him to soothe his irrational fears. After a time he had relaxed as the fever taxed his remaining strength, and she laid him back down on the mat. Her mind had been so muddled by then, that's when she must have lost control.

Her eyes fell upon Sora who was sleeping soundly sprawled over her patient, his hand falling into the water basin she had been using. The water was frozen solid, encasing his hand with in the ice.

"Mom, mom you've got to come see this, the house it's covered in ice!" Tidus yelled from outside.

She glanced again at Sora, and realized that his powers had been drained as well. He must have come under the influence of the same control with much worse results, his fledgling powers seemingly having exploded out of him. She gently pried the ice away from his hand noticing the beginning signs of frostbite. She scooped his limp unresponsive body into her arms and placed him down on her sleeping mat and covered him with the blanket before taking up his hand and rubbing it between her own for a time. She wrapped it in some bandaging and tucked his arm back under the blanket.

Next to him, her patient seemed to be fairing much better since the day before as his fever finally had broken and he was resting peacefully. His breathing was still raged and uneven and his pulse was weaker than it should have been- signs which concerned her as it showed that he was still sick and probably would be for the foreseeable future.

Tidus was still yelling for her so she picked herself up and walked out the door.

What she found outside shocked her. Indeed there was a rather thick sheet of ice covering the house and the surrounding area. Giant icicles dripped off the eves of the roof and threatened to pull it down. What appeared to be waves of ice splashed up onto neighboring houses. Tidus stood in the small back yard hitting the icicles with his wooden sword before they could cause a cave in.

However, what was far worse than the ice itself was that a crowd was now gathering outside in the streets. The practice of any magick except for healing was deeply frowned upon.

"Aerith Haruki what is the meaning of this?" came a condescending voice.

She whipped around to see the District elder approaching with his entourage. She had never really cared for the man as he always seemed to have some kind of hidden motive.

"Sir, I really don't know," she said trying desperately not to implicate Sora.

"I have it under advisement that you took in a patient yesterday. An unknown pulled from the river near the market?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes sir," she replied.

"If my suspicions are correct, he must have had something to do with this. Such an obvious use of magick. I have to see this patient of yours."

"Sir, he's just a boy. And a very sick one at that," Aerith pleaded.

"Doesn't matter. Magick is magick. We've already attracted the crown's attention. I'd like nothing more than to get them off of my back and tell them the problem's been taken care of."

"Yes sir, right this way," she replied.

She led the way into her home, the mousy blond-haired elder following her, his green eyes scanning over everything.

"Here," she said showing him the two boys sleeping side by side.

"What happened to your eldest?" he asked.

"He was helping me last night with my patient. Something must have drained him."

"Well I can see why. This boy here- white hair- mark of an Al-Bhed priest. He's definitely our trouble maker," he scowled, eyeing the boy.

"He's been fevered this entire time. Anything he must have done is completely unintentional," Aerith explained.

He didn't seem to hear her, his attention directed completely on the boy. A pit formed in her stomach. Little could be done about the powers that may be.

"Al-Bhed?" his assistant asked.

"Filthy race, all of them. Nearly all have the gift- and nothing good ever comes of it. The priests have are especially vulgar creatures- filled with the darkest magicks. Cultists really, followers of a different god. We're lucky he's young. Completely trainable," the elder stated.

"Sir Vexen, should we?" the other man asked.

"Yes. We can't have him running about unchecked can we?"

Aerith sighed. She knew what was coming. The attendant pulled from his pocket a strip of black leather with a buckle on the end. It was the cruel device known as a Restriction- meant to control those with magick powers. She was very lucky Sora's accidents had never been picked up on- or he would share the same fate.

The attendant handed the collar over to Elder Vexen who tightened the strip around the boy's neck with a smirk on his face, a look Aerith wished she had the courage to wipe off of his face. Vexen was having too much pleasure in this, as the collar drained what little color the recovering boy had in his face.

"Well our problem is under control. If I were you Mrs. Haruki I would dispose of this as soon as possible. It's more trouble than it's worth. I'd be glad to take it off your hands for you," Vexen said with a smirk.

"That won't be necessary. HE is just a boy. I don't see anything filthy or vulgar about HIM. I'll nurse HIM back to health and then we'll see from there," Aerith replied getting cross.

With a snort Vexen left. Aerith fell to her knees at the boy's side. The Restriction had weakened him, and there was nothing she could do for him, a charm prevented the collar's removal except by the person who placed it. It looked as if elder Vexen didn't hold any regard for the Al-Bhed- who ever they really were. She didn't even know if this boy was one.

It truly was a nasty world they lived in. One where you constantly had to watch over your shoulder, because at any turn someone had their nose where it should not be.

They called those with ancient magicks running through their veins the Gifted- but the term had become a mere joke. The 'Gifts' were looked on with an air of repulsion, all because long ago a few men had used magick to harm others.

Now instead of Gifted and Non-Gifted living in harmony- they had Restrictions. Dog collars really- used to control and limit the ways magick could be used. The truth was with this system in place magic could only be used to benefit those with the control, instead of the people the way the gods who gave the magick had intended. She supposed that it was a good thing that the only Gifted except from Restrictions were those like her- gifted with healing magick. Now it seemed it wouldn't be long before Sora was collared too.

It sickened her. She saw what the collars did. To a degree everyone had magick with in them whether it manifested with powers or not. Those innate magicks helped regulate the body and give it strength. With the collar in place all magick even the beneficial magic was dampened. It kept the subjugated weakened and made it hard for healers like herself to help them. The reason she hoped Sora would never be collared and tried her best to hide his gifts, was that he had so much more to offer the world.

Of course she was well aware that this morning's incident was most likely the result of one of Sora's accidents. The scope of the whole thing too big to just be her boy. The other boy definitely had magick within him and it probably had resonated with in Sora who hated to see others in pain and would have tried his best to help. With a fever clouding his mind her patient probably lost control and latched on to Sora's magick producing the result shown.

* * *

Naminé kept her head bowed down low as she followed the two men out of the dungeons. The red head had proceeded to introduce himself as Axel and his partner as Saïx, and promptly bound her wrists with a rough hempen rope. With a shove she was on her feet and now walking at a rather brisk pace through the castle.

The corridors were familiar to her yet at the same time foreign. She had spent four years roaming them as she spent her time attending to her fiancee- a prophet and advisor under the service of the old king- and she had given little regard for her surroundings then. But no matter the little attention she had paid to those stone hallways, she could tell that they had changed.

In the past year her beloved had sequestered himself in his chambers upon the untimely death of his mentor and she had given her time to looking after him and rarely stepped out for fear of his- yet alone her- life. They had grown thin and weary together, and finally he had gone forth without her to confront a man sure to kill him. What happened after that- well- she just hung her head down further.

During her absence the stone passage ways linking private chambers to expansive gathering halls had grown whiter- and eerily so. They gleamed with an odd purple light that only served to accentuate the deep shadows of unlit passages and empty corridors. She had the distinct feeling of being watched from those shadows. From the periphery of her vision she saw yellow beady eyes following her, yet when she turned there was nothing except for the stoic blue haired guard making sure she didn't fall behind.

After climbing several flights of stairs and crossing at least a dozen passages, the trio came to a set of wide double doors. Axel thrust them open, the light from the hall spilling inwards and revealing a familiar sight to her. The square room was tidily furnished with a sofa and two end chairs arranged in a semicircle on top of a rich carpet. Opposite from where they stood was another set of double doors, and the other two walls had smaller doors leading to further hallways. She immediately recognized the seating area as the formal reception room of her fiancee's personal chambers. The side door to the left lead to her own bedchamber while the one on the right lead to servant's rooms. Beyond the double doors were his bedchambers.

It was a welcome sight despite the fact that she knew in the heart- he was not there.

"His highness King Xemnas is allowing you to return to your former chambers in hopes that you will avail yourself further to him. It is an offer that is in your best interests witch. Serve the king or you can join your prophet in the afterlife." Saïx stated.

"I was promised he'd spare his life." she said.

"He was thrown into the river. I doubt someone of his condition would have made it out." Axel replied.

"The gods have ways of looking after their own," Naminé assured.

"Regardless of that, the King expects your answer tomorrow," Saïx affirmed.

With a shove he pushed the girl into the room and closed the door behind her. She heard the distinct sound of a lock clicking into place and she knew she was trapped. The words of those two men stung in her heart. She knew she couldn't trust the word of the King- the man who would have killed her fiancee himself had she not intervened- but she did trust the word of her god.

She was now alone. Part of her wanted to collapse on the floor and cry. It would be easy just to turn herself over to her grief. But no- she was a better person. She would take control of her situation in the same way she stepped in to intervene to stop her beloved's execution.

The title 'Witch' was not an empty insult when it came to what she was capable of.

Naminé stepped forward and opened the double doors. Beyond them was a long hall that ended in another set of matching doors. Along the hall were several smaller doors that lead to a richly furnished bath, and several closets that housed clothing and supplies for various rituals.

She had in her mind the type of rituals and spells she had to preform to receive the answers to the questions that burned in her heart. She set about to gather the components she'd need to complete her work. Sage incense for cleansing her sacred space and for increased wisdom. She mixed sprigs of dried bay, basil, and yarrow for aide in divination, catnip for insight to solve her problems, sandalwood for protection, and a pinch of thyme to prepare for magickal practice- and placed them in a black silk bag along with amethyst stone to aide in meditation and cultivate wisdom. From a box she took a few silver taper candles- the color meant to bring her closer with her god. Lastly she removed from the closet a white cloth for her alter, and a ceramic basin to use to hold her spells.

With her supplies in hand she opened the wide doors to enter her fiancee's bed chambers. In her dream the room had condensed and appeared smaller than it was. It was a great hall that had been given to him for it's chapel like expanse and vaulted ceiling. The room was an elongated rectangle in shape, it's walls made of pale grey marble with veins of blue-grey. The long wall opposite the door was all floor to ceiling windows that ended in pointed arches at the top. Shear drapes in alternating colors of purple, blue and silver were hung off of rods formed from tree branches and were tied back with silver cord.

His now empty bed was set off in a nook at one end of the room, it's rich blue-grey velvet bed curtains draped with embroidered scarves and adorned with jeweled amulets to ward off negative energies and attract prophetic dreams. The covers were unmade from when he had risen his last morning there, and the many pillows and cushions were pilled haphazardly at the head.

In the center of the room was another less formal seating area with a chaise sofa draped with a thick blanket and two chairs. A low table sat in the middle and was covered with a lace cloth and cluttered with old books filled with spells, ancient lore, and astrological charts. Next to the chaise was a small stool on top of which was a grey velvet pillow that was seemingly decorated with white cat fur. On the other side of the table from the chaise was a marble brasier that had been set into the floor, its coals had completely burned out since when the room was last occupied.

The last feature of the chamber was at the opposite end of the room from the bed. She walked over to the wall and pulled back the blue and purple curtain that shielded her fiancee's sacred altar from the eyes of non-believers. The back wall had been constructed of rough granite rock in a half-circle that gave the appearance of a natural grotto. The alter was set at knee level with a cushion on the floor for kneeling on during devotion. Various ritual implements were placed on a blue-grey silk cloth before the statue of the god Lunniea which was surrounded by wilting white lilies.

She knelt before the alter and glanced about at the implements that had been strewn over it's surface. What interested her the most was a map of the city. A pointed amethyst crystal that hung off a silver chain lay on top of the map, it's point resting on an area depicting the Inner District slums. Next to the map lay a quill pen and a rolled piece of parchment- which she knew in her hear was his last testament. She unrolled it and read the elegant script that was printed on it.

_In the words of Thoqueisarath Baequimitore- High Priest and Prophet of Lunniea- written in the fall of the first year of the rein of King Xemnas._

_Final Testament:_

_In the past night his holiness appeared to me in a dream after weeks of prayer over matters that have troubled me greatly. I was told not to worry for my suffering will be rewarded. The time of his chosen one has come and I am to deliver the prayer to call him. For that I have foreseen my own death at the false King's hands. _

_Through divination and prayer I have found the name and location of The Keeper. His name is Sora Haruki, he lives in the Inner District of the city of Hollow Bastion. He will come of age at the new year and enter into the service of the kingdom. He is to be watched and protected for three years while his power matures. After that time he is to be brought to the temple of the Moon Tribe along with The Host. _

_Before I came here I located The Host and gave the boy my blessing. His name is Roxas and he resides with the Twilight Tribe of the Westersands. _

_In the year that passed I have witnessed much. I was there when Xemnas murdered my mentor King Ansem the Wise. He only spared me in hopes that he could use and corrupt my power. With my god's protection that has not transpired. But now I am afraid that I can no longer remain still._

_It is my hope that these words can be delivered to the capable hands of Sir Highwind of the Bastionian Resistance movement so that he can move to protect The Keeper._

_May the peace of his holiness Lunniea- Prince of Dreams and Lord of the Eternal Cycle- fill all who reads this. May the vengeance of the gods be brought to the false King. I will watch over everyone from my seat with my lord._

_- __Thoqueisarath Baequimitore_

With the scroll and her supplies in hand she moved into her own chambers. As they were unmarried, the strict tradition of their culture dictated that they sleep in separate chambers. Her room was small and more modestly furnished than the grand chamber of her fiancee. Her bed took up most of the room and the remaining space she dedicated to her own rituals that she kept separate from the work of her beloved.

She set the basin down on top of a small brasier and filled it with water from a pitcher she kept in the room before she lit the coals. She emptied the contents of the bag into the water and watched as the concoction came to a boil and began to steam filling the room with fragrance. She lit a stick of incense and waved it around the four corners of the room, chanting a prayer to the four elemental goddesses to remove negative energy from the room.

After placing the stick in an incense holder she knelt down on the floor in front of a spherical crystal that was set on an elaborate iron stand. She spent several moments in prayer to center her energy and connect with the gods. When she reached a state of inner peace she then opened her eyes and held her hands over the crystal ball.

"Show me the boy- Sora- the one he's been looking for," Naminé chanted.

Mist swirled within the sphere as she chanted, and soon an image began to form with in the fog. A room came into view with a tidy hearth and table in the center. In the corner near the heart slept two boys. The first had coppery brown hair and soft boyish features. She could feel an energy resonating from with in him. It was a warm energy filled with Magick and potential laying dormant with in him. He was sleeping soundly as his energy recharged itself.

"_That must be him- The Keeper," _she thought.

While she watched a brown haired woman came and attended to him and she could feel the tenderness and care she took as well as the healing energy welling up in her. When she left she turned her attention to the other boy and immediately recognized his white hair and pale face.

"_Riku!"_ her heart leapt.

Her god's words were the truth, he had found a place with the Chosen One. She felt his energy- it was broken and weak- and she could immediately sense the fragile state his body was in, and the confusion he felt as he began to wake and discover that his memories- his identity- was gone.

The woman she had seen earlier returned and knelt down beside him with a bowl of food and began to wake him, a look of concern on her face as she watched him.

Naiminé could see from the surroundings in the room that these were humble people taking care of her beloved, yet this woman was giving him her all. The young girl could tell now- her love was in good, capable hands.

* * *

Sora remained asleep into the afternoon, and most likely would sleep until his powers returned. How long she didn't know. She just hoped nothing would happen to him in that time while his body was vulnerable. With the collar in place, the other boy's future was uncertain as well. His body would have to be strong in order to overcome the drain. In his state she doubted he could.

Tidus had gone out in the morning and returned later with a roast chicken he had earned by doing chores for a neighbor. The smell of the meat now permeated the house as Aerith separated the flesh from the bones so she could boil the carcass for broth.

Sora still slept like a rock as to be expected, but the other boy was beginning to grow restless as the smell of food wafted about the room, most likely making the emaciated boy hungry. She took some breast meat and ripped it into small pieces which she mixed with the still week broth in a bowl that she then took over to her patient.

Her patient was moving his head around in a purposeful manner as if he was trying to take in the room, yet it looked like his eyes were still closed.

She knelt down next to him and reached out to touch his shoulder, as she did so he jumped like her touch had startled him.

* * *

He awoke in darkness, although that was not the best way to describe it. He could just discern a light in the formless space and it was enough to burn. He wasn't bothered by the darkness, it was the smells and the sounds that he couldn't figure out.

The first thing that assaulted him as he came to his senses was the musty dank smell of old cloth and of earth. The sounds were coming from above, so he surmised that he was lying on the ground, the straw mat offering little comfort. The cloth covering the mat was worn down from use from what he could feel. There was a slight chill in the air but the rough blanket covering him kept most of it out.

His body felt heavy and sore, his right ankle sent a shock of pain through his body when he tried to move it. His body felt sluggish, weak and was encumbered by the thick blanket covering it. Someone obviously had been caring for him as he could feel bandaging around his hands and torso and he could taste herbal medicine at the back of his throat.

He hated that he felt weak. There was nothing that could be done about that though and he again turned his thoughts to his surroundings.

He could hear the crackle of a fire nearby, the smell of the burning wood being the one pleasant odder around him. In the near distance he could hear someone moving about- a woman from the way she moved and hummed as she worked. The smell of food was wafting around and his stomach turned painfully making him wonder how long he had been knocked out.

He also picked up the presence of someone lying next to him- the soft sounds of breathing coming his way. There was an odd sense of familiarity coming from this presence, yet he couldn't place the connection. He tried to concentrate on the connection but his mind came up blank and that thought was alarming. So alarming that when he felt a hand on his shoulder, he couldn't help but jump.

"Who's there!?" he asked startled.

* * *

The tone of his voice took Aerith back. She wasn't trying to startle him- nor had she expected the rudeness of his question. For that matter she thought he was still asleep as his eyes were still closed. She supposed though, his tone was a bit warranted for the shock of waking in an unfamiliar place.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. My name's Aerith," she said in a comforting voice.

"Are you the one who's been taking care of me?" he asked, his voice losing its earlier roughness.

"Yes, my son Sora rescued you from the river here. We've been looking after you for a good day now. You had a fever last night. You really had us worried."

"Thank you," the boy murmured rather distantly, his face showing that after all this time he was still tired. "Where am I?"

"Hollow Bastion. Inner District," she replied. The location didn't seem to register with him. "I'd like to know how you ended up in the river."

"I don't know. I can't remember. My mind just seems blank right now," he said distantly.

"Maybe you'll remember later."

"Maybe," he sighed, seemingly resigned to thinking otherwise.

"Here, I've got some food for you," she offered brightly and then gently grasped his shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position.

His mouth contorted in pain as he allowed himself to be moved. He didn't have the strength to help or resist and just hung in her grip like a child's rag doll before she rested his back against the wall.

He perked up a bit when she handed him the soup bowl, although his half lidded gaze gave him the look of still being asleep. Still he ate the offered chicken and broth with a healthy appetite, stopping only once when he dropped the spoon and had to use his free hand to methodically feel out for its location- a behavior that made Aerith wonder as most would simply look for its location. His eyes remained closed though, his hand finally locating the object. He cleaned his bowl, and finished a second portion as well after she offered it.

Satisfied, he nestled down into his bedding, positioning himself with his back to the fire. She covered him up with the blanket and he pulled it tightly over himself almost as if to create a barrier against her observation of him.

The boy needed as much rest as possible, but she also needed to examine him while he was awake. She rolled him unto his back with a moan escaping his mouth as a protest.

"How are you feeling?" Aerith asked.

"Alright I suppose," he replied slightly annoyed at the incursion.

"Are you in any pain?"

"Everything hurts," he complained, shifting his head away from her.

"Anything in particular?"

"My ankle, I suppose," he sighed realizing he wasn't going to shake her away easily and it was best to go along. "Can't move it without pain."

"Alright, I have to take a look then," she said lifting the blanket away from his legs.

He shifted his position at the sudden exposure of his almost bare legs to the cold. She caught his affected ankle before he could move it and began probing the injury to find where the breaks were. It was still quite swollen and warm. It also seemed as if this wasn't the first time he had injured himself there for the muscle structure almost seemed stunted. As she pressed the whole limb sized in pain and he tried to kick her away with his good leg.

"Easy, I'm not going to hurt you," she cooed.

"Bullshit that hurt like hell," he exclaimed, hands grabbing at the mat to ease the pain.

"You've got a nasty break here, sweetheart. I need your cooperation if you want an ankle that you can walk on in the future, otherwise I'll just let you be a cripple," she affirmed, deciding that she had to take a tougher stance to get to him.

His expression changed from one of indifference to frustration and then resignation. She had clearly struck a nerve with in him. She had no idea of the situation that led to him being in such a deplorable state- but with most men any weakness or sense of helplessness was undesirable.

With no desire to distress him further she only wrapped the ankle tighter so that it couldn't be moved easily. The next day she'd have to set the break and immobilize it further. Perhaps by then she'd have Sora's help to keep him calm.

With that she checked on the sores she had discovered earlier on his torso and finding them draining nicely, she replaced the dressings on the wounds, and then having finished with the better part of her examination, replaced the blanket.

His eyes had remained closed throughout the entire process which worried her as there was no sign of injury to the area aside from some minor bruising to his face. This only added to her curiosity about his earlier actions regarding the spoon.

"Sweetie can you open your eyes for me?" Aerith asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said with an undertone of more resignation.

With a little effort he opened them. They were a really startling blue green color with an almost spiral pattern inside the iris. The closer she looked however, she noted that they were pale, almost cloudy, and lacked the normal gloss. The whites were slightly bloodshot and he blinked more than usual and seemed to want to turn away from the light of the fire. The condition of one's eyes was an indicator of overall health- and if that was so his eyes showed a lot more than his body did.

"The light hurts. I'm not used to it," he sighed with an air of anticipation.

A pit formed in her stomach as suddenly his behavior began to make sense. There was no easy way about the matter at hand now.

"Are you..." she began.

"Yes," he replied in a deadpan voice.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't help but notice," she said brushing her hand across his face.

"Don't be. Been blind since I was a child," he stated as he brushed her hand away with his own.

At that he completely pulled away from her, retreating into himself. He had closed his eyes by then, and she supposed it was easier for him that way.

Pity at that point was probably the last thing he wanted, although she didn't want to indulge his self-loathing ether. If she was to reach him at all it would have to be subtly.

"Can you tell me your name?" she asked.

"Riku," he sighed, obviously tired. "Only thing I remember."

"Alright Riku. I'll let you rest."

Now the only thing Aerith could do was leave Riku to be by himself while she finished preparing food. He resumed his curled up position away from the hearth, which ironically had him facing Sora who still was asleep though out that entire conversation.

The discovery of his blindness had been a bit shocking, although thinking about it the revelation didn't surprise her in the context of his abandonment. Most handicapped children were turned out after a certain age before they could become a burden on their poor families. The streets were rough and most didn't survive long. He was thin which showed he had difficulty finding food, and having a bad ankle didn't help him. Something traumatic had happened to him, she wasn't sure if he truly had no memory or if he was simply blocking the past out of his mind. Whatever was the case, the story of his past would come eventually.

Clearly now the child needed care and above all a place to stay.

* * *

Riku awoke the next morning at the sound of children running about. He was by now well aware that Aerith had five children from the sounds they made. Two girls and two boys of varying ages, plus the boy who was still asleep next to him after all this time. The girls had approached him earlier asking quite persistent and intrusive questions before Aerith shepherded them away to play outside.

The kind woman gave him a bowl of overcooked rice for breakfast which he ate with relish despite its lack of flavor and odd texture. He couldn't complain as these people were doing all they could for him, and asked politely for more, which she was glad to comply.

After giving him and her son a quick glance over, she left him alone for the morning- saying she was going off to the market.

The house quieted down considerably after she left with the children. He wasn't used to the noises and the prodding he got from them, and wasn't sure how to act around children as the questions were almost too much for him to handle. His mind was still drawing blanks, but he was certain he did not deal with children in the past.

He spent most of the morning trying to force himself to remember with no avail, thus he turned his attention to figuring out his surroundings.

Aerith's son was still sleeping next him. He had no idea why he slept as such, but it was clear Aerith was concerned about him, having said something about the boy wearing himself out.

He could hear the sounds of the street outside, carts rattling by, people conversing with each other, and the sounds of animals all filled the air. Wafts of various smells reached him, from the aromas of food to other things less pleasant, all with an undertone of salt.

Next to him Sora finally began to stir, rolling over onto his side, an arm smacking down across Riku's chest snapping him out of his thoughts as the boy snuggled in closer to him.

"Mommy," he mumbled, attempting to play with Riku's hair. Riku swatted him away, but Sora was persistent.

"No not mommy," he said, grabbing Sora's hands and moving them to the boy's side.

"Oh, morning Tidus."

"No."

"Haha funny nice one," he mumbled placing his head on Riku's stomach.

Despite the incursion on his space, Riku had to admit that the weight and the added warmth felt nice. But after a few minutes Sora began to fidget and Riku decided the intrusion had to stop.

"Come on wake up," he said nudging the younger boy with his elbow.

"Oww, Tidus you're being mean!" Sora whined.

"Then get off of me," Riku exclaimed finally getting frustrated enough to shove the boy off.

Sora's head hit the ground with a thump and he finally woke. Riku rolled over unto his side to face away from him, and buried his face in the pillow.

Sora, woke up feeling dazed, and slightly groggy. The last thing he remembered was falling asleep next to Tidus two nights earlier, so when he woke up in the kitchen area, he felt slightly disoriented. He sat up and looked about for any explanation to his surroundings, and to why he woke up late in the morning. His eyes fell on the mess of silver hair on the floor.

The last he knew the boy had been very sick with fever but someone had definitely woke him, and rather roughly at that. He placed his hand on the other's shoulder.

"Are you awake?" he asked softly.

"Yes," came the response.

"Are you feeling alright? When did you wake up?" Sora asked.

"Yesterday. According to your mother you slept all day," Riku replied.

"Oh, wow. I wonder why," he said out loud.

Riku was silent, and Sora pondered why he was being shut out like that. The older boy seemed so cold, so distant, and it worried Sora.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

"No, I feel like shit," Riku replied.

"You don't have to be mean about it. I'm just trying to help."

"Why, you don't even know me?"

"You know, it's odd but I feel like I do. Yet I know we've never met," Sora stated cheerily, remembering the connection he felt earlier.

"That's a load of bull," he huffed.

Sora removed his hand from Riku's shoulder, and was about to get up when a sudden thought came to mind.

"I know that the smell of sage helps you clear your mind and that the sound of wind and the feel of grass reminds you of home. You hate to lose and have to be the best at everything. You have to be in control of everything or you feel helpless. It's an annoying quality, yet it can be endearing at the same time." Sora said in a voice that wasn't quite his own.

Riku's head snapped up in surprise as he quickly turned around to face Sora for once his eyes wide open in surprise. He didn't know why but something in what the boy said, and how he said it just resonated within him.

"How do you know these things?" he asked reaching out to touch Sora's face.

It was a comforting touch that almost spoke of some unanswered need. It was a feeling that Sora hadn't experienced before and he wasn't sure if it was a feeling he liked or if he was terrified. There was an odd look in those sea-green eyes, a mix of longing and tenderness. Sora was conflicted, part of this felt so right like it all had been done before. At the same time he felt like these emotions weren't his- and it was as if someone had taken control of him.

"Riku," he murmured.

"How do you know my name?" the older boy asked pleadingly.

Sora didn't know. The thoughts- they had just come to him. It was like having a separate awareness inside him.

"I.... I..." he stuttered.

Riku's face was drawing closer to his, Sora could feel the boy's breath on his cheeks and he started to blush. Riku's lips drew close to his and his mind started to scream.

"This, this isn't right," Sora said regaining his mind and pulling away.

Riku looked defeated, then ashamed.

"I'm sorry. That was presumptive. I don't know you and I sure as hell don't know how you know me," Riku apologized.

"I don't know either, those words, they just sprang into my mind," Sora stated.

"Funny you know more about me than I know about myself, and you don't know how. My memories they aren't mine anymore," he said.

"You can't remember anything?" Sora asked concerned.

"Nothing," he replied lying back down.

"Well, I don't know what this voice inside my head is but maybe I can help you remember."

"Maybe," Riku sighed.

"I will help," he said lifting up Riku's chin so that he was looking straight into them. "The voice has to be there for a reason."

Riku smiled slightly.

"You have such beautiful eyes," Sora thought out loud.

They seemed almost bottomless, but as the light flickered over them, he noticed the slight cloudiness for a second before Riku closed them and looked away. That cloudiness, he had seen that look in some of Aerith's elderly patients.

"Are you alright?" Sora asked.

"You didn't see that?" Riku replied.

"Your eyes?"

Riku was quiet. He didn't say anything for a time, and Sora didn't know what had made the older boy so upset. Sora sat and thought on it. Those eyes- all the other people he had seen with that kind of look to them were all old, sick, and couldn't see well.

"Riku is there something wrong with your eyes? Are you sick?" Sora asked.

"Blind," Riku stated plainly.

"Blind? Like completely?"

"Yes. The only thing my eyes can detect is where the light comes from," he replied.

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't know," he said with a tone of resignation.

"Well. I'm going to find a way to help you. You're not going to deal with all of this alone," Sora said reassuringly.

"Thank you. I don't know how things got so fucked up or what's going to happen from here. But I feel like I can trust you," Riku replied quietly.

Sora could tell the older boy was growing ill. He wasn't breathing right and Sora could see him shivering underneath his blanket. Sora stood up and covered Riku with the blanket from his own bedding, and then sat down behind him and rubbed his shoulders until he could hear Riku's breathing deepen, and he was sure the other boy had fallen asleep.


End file.
